What is the difference between corn oil and maize?
Maize may be fermented and distilled to produce Bourbon whiskey. Corn oil is extracted from the germ of the grain. In prehistoric times, Mesoamerican women used a metate quern to grind maize into cornmeal.
What is corn oil used for?
Corn oil (North American) or maize oil (British) is oil extracted from the germ of corn ( maize ). Its main use is in cooking, where its high smoke point makes refined corn oil a valuable frying oil. It is also a key ingredient in some margarines. Corn oil is generally less expensive than most other types of vegetable oils .
How is corn oil extracted?
Almost all corn oil is expeller-pressed, then solvent-extracted using hexane or 2-methylpentane (isohexane). The solvent is evaporated from the corn oil, recovered, and re-used. After extraction, the corn oil is then refined by degumming and/or alkali treatment, both of which remove phosphatides.
How is vegetable oil processed?
The processing of vegetable oil in commercial applications is commonly done by chemical extraction, using solvent extracts, which produces higher yields and is quicker and less expensive. The most common solvent is petroleum-derived hexane. This technique is used for most of the "newer" industrial oils such as soybean and corn oils.